01 Apr Mornington Island
MORNINGTON ISLAND – APRIL 2017
Since 2015 Grace has been travelling to Mornington Island, a remote Aboriginal community nestled in the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the coast of North Queensland.
Throughout her five visits to the community, Grace’s main objective has been to engage with the young people and encourage them to celebrate and be proud of who they are and where they come from, by using art and fashion to do so.
As part of her most recent visit in April, 2017, Grace worked with a group of girls aged fifteen to twenty to not only create art but also to impart skills in areas such as personal grooming and presentation. In a makeshift salon set-up, the girls were able to wash each others’ hair and paint nails. This was a lot of fun and a great way for the girls to prepare for their modelling roles in the fashion performance that was held at the community’s PCYC at the end of the three week visit. The performance brought the younger generation together with their elders who had created the wearable art on show. This proved to be a hugely enjoyable and enriching experience for all involved. Grace noticed the confidence the girls exhibited throughout the performance had increased immensely since the beginning of the workshop. They walked with contagious energy and pride, shared by the artists and the community who formed the enthusiastic audience.
